SB 1.8.25

Host 1: The Hare Krishna Land in Mumbai and then later on so many other projects at Govardhan, the Govardhan Ashram and the hospice, the Bhaktivedanta Hospice and the women’s Ashram. Maharaja has been also giving classes all over the world, many retreats, and recently also published a book which we all have been waiting for a very long time. I remember when Maharaja visited us a couple of years ago; he wrote part of the book at our home so I’ll always remember that. Thank you so much, I will not take too much of your time, today’s topic is gratitude. In these days, gratitude is very very important for all of us, the opportunities that we have compared to so many other people with the pandemic and other world issues, so thank you so much for speaking on such a wonderful topic. Thank you so much Maharaja. Welcome to Phoenix, even though it’s virtually hopefully we’ll be seeing you soon. Thank you so much, Hare Krishna.

Host 2: Thank you, Hare Krishna Maharaja, welcome to Phoenix. Before starting, we have actually a young devotee who wants to welcome you as well.

Devotee 1: Hare Krishna Maharaja, I offer my humble obeisances, we are all looking forward to your lecture, especially my mom. Today’s topic is about gratitude, so I would like to offer my gratitude to Krishna for having you and Shyama Mohini Mataji who guides me and my family very nicely, and Chakri Prabhu and Vishnu Priya Mataji. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Thank you, that was beautiful. I would like to request the devotees on Zoom to turn on your cameras so I can see your moonlight faces. I will begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan. Then we will speak on today’s topic with reference to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter Eight: “Prayers by Queen Kuntī,” Text Twenty-Five.

[Prayers]

Hare Krishna. We shall read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter Eight: “Prayers by Queen Kuntī,” Text Twenty-Five. As we are, in a way, faced with many calamities in the world now, I will read about calamities.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 25

vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat

tatra tatra jagad-guro

bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād

apunar bhava-darśanam

TRANSLATION

I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Generally the distressed, the needy, the intelligent and the inquisitive, who have performed some pious activities, worship or begin to worship the Lord.

COMMENT

This is a statement of Bhagavad-gītā, catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ.

PURPORT (continued)

Others, who are thriving on misdeeds only, regardless of status, cannot approach the Supreme due to being misled by the illusory energy. Therefore, for a pious person, if there is some calamity there is no other alternative than to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.

COMMENT

This is something we should always remember. For a pious person, if there is some calamity there is no other alternative than to the take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

Constantly remembering the lotus feet of the Lord means preparing for liberation from birth and death. Therefore, even though there are so-called calamities, they are welcome because they give us an opportunity to remember the Lord, which means liberation.

COMMENT

In the process of surrender, śaraṇāgati, there are six divisions, and the first two are ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam. To accept whatever is favorable for Krishna consciousness and to reject whatever is unfavorable. Although something may be unfavorable for our material comfort or sense gratification, it may be favorable for our Krishna consciousness.

Queen Kunti is considering that the calamities that she faced were welcome, because in the midst of the calamities she was able to see Krishna or remember Krishna. And seeing Krishna or remembering Krishna means becoming liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Or in other words, going back home, back to Godhead, where there are no calamities.

PURPORT (continued)

One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are accepted as the most suitable boat for crossing the ocean of nescience, can achieve liberation as easily as one leaps over the holes made by the hoofs of a calf. Such persons are meant to reside in the abode of the Lord, and they have nothing to do with a place where there is danger in every step.

COMMENT

In this paragraph of the purport, Srila Prabhupada is paraphrasing a beautiful verse from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Beautiful in terms of the meaning and also beautiful in terms of the Sanskrit. And, in fact, we used to sing this verse every morning in the old Boston temple, under His Holiness Satsvarupa dasa Goswami Maharaja, whose Vyasa-puja we were pleased to celebrate yesterday on Zoom. I will sing that.

TEXT 58

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ

mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ

bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ

padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

TRANSLATION

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation.

COMMENT

Now I should mention here mahat-padaṁ. Mahat can refer to the cosmic manifestation and mahat can also refer to great souls Mahatamas. This actually means both, mahat-padam, the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and also the shelter of the great souls.

TRANSLATION

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.

COMMENT

Yes, the ocean of the material world becomes just like a puddle contained in a calf’s footprint. Although there is danger at every step, the devotee steps right over it. Coming back to Srila Prabhupada’s purport.

PURPORT (continued)

One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are accepted as the most suitable boat for crossing the ocean of nescience, can achieve liberation as easily as one leaps over the holes made by the hoofs of a calf. Such persons are meant to reside in the abode of the Lord, and they have nothing to do with a place where there is danger in every step.

This material world is certified by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā as a dangerous place full of calamities.

COMMENT

Dukhālayam, it means a place of miseries, aśāśvatam, and temporary. Even if someone is ready to make a compromise, all right, there are miseries but there is also happiness, I’m ready to take both and continue my life here. But you cannot continue your life here because aśāśvatam, it is temporary.

PURPORT (continued)

This material world is certified by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā as a dangerous place full of calamities. Less intelligent persons prepare plans to adjust to those calamities without knowing that the nature of this place is itself full of calamities.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada says it is dukhālayam, but they want to make it sukhālayam. It’s a place of misery, they want to make it a place of happiness, which they cannot do, it is just not possible. Of course, there is happiness in Krishna consciousness, but not in trying to adjust the material world to create a materially happy situation.

PURPORT (continued)

Less intelligent persons prepare plans to adjust to those calamities without knowing that the nature of this place is itself full of calamities. They have no information of the abode of the Lord, which is full of bliss and without trace of calamity.

COMMENT

We are always in anxiety because of calamities, and the spiritual world is called Vaikuntha, kuntha means anxiety, and Vaikuntha means a place where there is no anxiety. No anxiety because there are no calamities.

PURPORT (continued)

They have no information of the abode of the Lord, which is full of bliss and without trace of calamity. The duty of the sane person.

COMMENT

And my dear devotees, you are all sane of course, you are sane.

PURPORT (continued)

The duty of the sane person, therefore, is to be undisturbed by worldly calamities, which are sure to happen in all circumstances. Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes, one should make progress in spiritual realization because that is the mission of human life.

COMMENT

This is a very important point, that according to our destiny, our karma or our destiny, we are allotted a certain amount of happiness and distress. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in two places, Srila Narada Muni and Sri Prahlada Maharaja tell us that nobody makes an effort to get miseries or calamities, the miseries come automatically. And just as the miseries come automatically, the happiness will also come automatically, without our making any effort. So whatever happiness and distress are due to us, according to our destiny or our karma, will come to us, and therefore, we should not waste time and energy trying to increase our happiness or decrease our misery, which are going to come in any case. But we should utilize our time and energy to make spiritual advancement, to develop Krishna consciousness.

That is the intelligent course of action, and Krishna consciousness is such that it is enjoyable all along the way. It’s not that you have to wait until you achieve complete perfection to relish the benefits of Krishna consciousness, but even from the beginning there are so many benefits. In The Nectar of Devotion or the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Rupa Gosvami lists six characteristics of a pure devotional service, and one is that it immediately brings relief from material distress. Another is that it brings all auspiciousness. Srila Rupa Gosvami states that these benefits or these results of pure devotional service are experienced even in the beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti. Of those six, two are appreciable in sādhana-bhakti, two are appreciable in bhāva-bhakti, and two are appreciable in prema-bhakti.

But these two very important items, are appreciable even in the beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti. Relief from material distress and all auspiciousness. Rupa Gosvami also analyzes auspiciousness in different categories, and one of the elements of auspiciousness is happiness, which means that even from the beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti, we experience happiness. I mean, I don’t know if I should say this, but when I joined the Boston temple, the temple underwent a lot of improvements and Srila Prabhupada said, “Giriraj is auspicious.” Now, I don’t if that’s really a very appropriate reference in this discussion of auspiciousness, but by Srila Prabhupada’s grace—yes, I mean, everyone becomes auspicious when they engage in devotional service.

PURPORT (continued)

Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes, one should make progress in spiritual realization because that is the mission of human life.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada gave this same advice to the chief minister of Maharashtra at Srila Prabhupada’s last major public preaching program, pandal program, at Azad Maidan in Bombay. The chief minister had agreed to be the chief guest towards the end of the program on Rama-navami day. But there was a lot of political upheaval in Maharashtra and we didn’t even know he would be the chief minister by the time he was supposed to come. And with all the turbulence, we didn’t even know if he would even come, but he did come and he was the chief minister still. When Srila Prabhupada spoke to him, he said the exact same thing that he writes here in the purport. And he told the chief minister that, “As long as we are in the material world, there will be upheavals, so we should tolerate them and go on with our real duty of spiritual development or Krishna consciousness.”

The chief minister spoke beautifully about Srila Prabhupada and his mission and it was covered extensively in the newspapers, how the chief minister had lauded Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON. Then as Srila Prabhupada often did, not at the pandal but afterwards in a letter, he asked the chief minister to join the movement. But the chief minister didn’t reply, and Srila Prabhupada said that he couldn’t reply, because he couldn’t say, “yes,” but he couldn’t say, “no” also, so he remained silent. But he really did a lot of service and when you read my forthcoming book about Srila Prabhupada in Juhu, you’ll see what a significant role the then chief minister S.B Chavan played in our getting the permission to build the temple after facing so much opposition. He was a pious man but Prabhupada gave him the same advice.

PURPORT (continued)

Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes, one should make progress in spiritual realization because that is the mission of human life. The spirit soul is transcendental to all material calamities; therefore, the so-called calamities are called false.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada gives the example that if you put a drop of oil in water, the oil doesn’t mix with the water, it always remains separate. So, the soul also, even though it’s placed in the material surroundings, it doesn’t actually mix with it, it always remains distinct and separate.

PURPORT (continued)

The spirit soul is transcendental to all material calamities; therefore, the so-called calamities are called false. A man may see a tiger swallowing him in a dream, and he may cry for this calamity. Actually there is no tiger and there is no suffering; it is simply a case of dreams. In the same way, all calamities of life are said to be dreams.

COMMENT

There was a period in Bombay when Srila Prabhupada in his evening Bhagavad-gītā classes was speaking repeatedly on the theme, that at night we dream, but in the daytime what we are experiencing is also like a dream, in that it’s temporary. We call a dream as a dream because it’s temporary, it only lasts for a few minutes or an hour or less, but what we experience during the daytime is also a dream because it also doesn’t last, it doesn’t endure. He would say at night we have our night dreams and during the day, we have our daytime dreams. It’s all dreams, it’s all temporary.

PURPORT (continued)

A man may see a tiger swallowing him in a dream, and he may cry for this calamity. Actually there is no tiger and there is no suffering; it is simply a case of dreams. In the same way, all calamities of life are said to be dreams. If someone is lucky enough to get in contact with the Lord by devotional service, it is all gain.

COMMENT

The calamities in material existence appear to be loss, but they are actually not loss because they are all illusory. It’s like a calamity in a dream but contact with the Lord is real and beneficial and that is all gain.

PURPORT (continued)

If someone is lucky enough to get in contact with the Lord by devotional service, it is all gain.

COMMENT

So, the calamity in material existence appear to be lost, but they are actually not lost, because there are all illusionary just like calamity in a dream, but the contact with the Lord is real and beneficial and that is all gain,

PURPORT (continued)

If someone is lucky enough to get in contact with the Lord by devotional service, it is all gain.

Contact with the Lord by any one of the nine devotional services is always a forward step on the path going back to Godhead.

COMMENT

That is the conclusion of—conclusion means the end, not that devotional service ends but yes, going back to Godhead is the natural result of pure devotional service. When one goes back to Godhead, he lives an eternal life full of bliss and knowledge without any calamities or miseries. And in this process the most important element—of course, Srila Prabhupada mentions nine, as Prahlada Maharaja says, nine, navavidhi bhakti, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. But still, of all of the nine, the most important is the chanting of the holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Lord Chaitanya explains this in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, that of all the processes, the chanting of the holy name is the most important. And he says that if one chant without offense, uses the word niraparādhe, if one chants without offense one will awaken ecstatic love of Godhead, which is our goal. Hare Krishna.

I’m not sure how much time we have, but if there is time, we can take questions and comments.

Host: Wonderful as usual, thank you so much for taking time from your busy schedule, very busy schedule, to serve our yatra. We really thank you, and like Miss Gia was saying earlier, we just—I hope this COVID is going to be over soon so that we can have your physical presence with your association. Thank you.

Yes, I see one hand here from Rasakrida Prabhu, please go ahead, and everybody else who has questions please raise your hand and unmute yourselves. But before that Rasakrida Prabhu, let me just check with Mother Nama  Priya if there are any questions on Facebook.

Host: Hare Krishna Mataji, there is one question to Maharaja. This is from Tulsi Priya Mataji: Hare Krishna Maharaja, will you be more elaborate on the point, “As calamities come without our efforts, happiness also does, so we have to practice Krishna consciousness?” She just needs more clarification on that Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, well, she heard what I said and she repeated it. In Indian tradition, it is said that one’s destiny is written on one’s forehead. Of course, sometimes we think it’s written in the palms of our hands, it’s true also, but they also say it’s written in one’s forehead. So, in India it’s very common that if someone is lamenting their bad luck, they go like this, “Why did that have to happen? Oh, it’s my bad luck, my destiny!” but when we take to devotional service that’s wiped off. There is a very nice verse in The Nectar of Devotion, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that when you clap your hands in ecstasy and kirtan, all the lines of your hands are wiped off.

We have to do our duty, I mean, it’s not that because we are destined to get a certain amount of happiness as we are destined to get a certain amount of distress, that we don’t do our duty to earn money for the family or to take care of the children, we do our duty. But as Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, for the result we have to depend on Him, on Krishna, but we should not over endeavor. In The Nectar of Instruction, Upadeśāmṛta, also by Srila Rupa Gosvami, he mentions six items that spoil one’s devotional service, ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati, and one of them is over endeavoring for material achievements that are difficult to obtain. We should do our duty, we should work, we should depend on Krishna for the result, we shouldn’t over endeavor. We shouldn’t forget our real mission, which is to become Krishna conscious and go back home, back to Godhead, in the endeavor to achieve material gains. I hope that answers the question.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, thank you for giving a wonderful class. I have a question on the very first line of the purport by Srila Prabhupada, he has mentioned here that the generally distressed, needy, intelligent, and the inquisitive who have performed some pious activities, worship, or begin to worship the Lord. My understanding was that the pious activities usually translates into a good fortune that transfers into some material benefits, so is that also a precondition for start worshiping or starting the spiritual journey? Just a little bit more clarity on Prabhupada’s mention here on pious activities.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, there are different kinds of pious activities but what he is—as I mentioned, he is referring to the catur-vidhā bhajante mām, which means that those four kinds of people approach him, and those who are pious, they approach the Lord when—those four are those who are in distress, those who are in need of money, those who are inquisitive and those who are seeking the absolute truth. Srila Prabhupada says that all four are pious because they are approaching the Lord, but all of them, the one who is seeking the absolute truth, is the best because he has no material motive in approaching the Lord, but they are all considered pious. And there are the other kinds that Prabhupada mentions in the next line of the purport, who thrive on misdeeds na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ, so there are four categories who never surrender to Krishna, and then there are four pious ones who do.

Host: Thank you, thank you Maharaja. Sraddha devi dasi?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, thank you for the class. You had brought up the six characteristics of pure devotional service, one being that brings all relief from material distress. My question is does that necessarily mean that actual material calamities will decrease or is it more of our consciousness isn’t so disturbed when they do occur, as seems to be discussed a little bit more in the last part of the purport or both?

Giriraj Swami: I would actually say both because when you surrender to Krishna, He takes care of you. And Srila Prabhupada says that Krishna—well, yes, all right, so sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi. When you surrender to Krishna, He relieves you from all sinful actions and reactions, but Srila Prabhupada has explained that a little further saying that, okay, you surrendered to Krishna, Krishna takes your sinful reactions in His hand, but then He releases them, at the times and in the ways that are most beneficial for the devotee. So yes, devotional service brings immediate relief from material miseries. It’s more our consciousness, it doesn’t mean we won’t get sick or whatever, it’s more our consciousness won’t be disturbed. The calamities may come but we won’t be disturbed.

But at the same time, Krishna can relieve us from miseries that are due to sinful reactions, I mean, all miseries are sinful reactions basically, so Krishna can also reduce our sinful reactions, which come in the form of material miseries or calamities. That could be there too.

Host: Mahimataji, she is asking, Hare Krishna Maharaja, how can we know if we are over endeavoring or just going about life’s activities?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, who is asking?

Host: Mahi Mataji, you can unmute it yourself Mataji.

Devotee: Maharaja, it was me that I asked.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, how do you know if you are over endeavoring? Well, we should have a balance in our life between the time we spend on our spiritual practices and the time we spend on endeavoring for material results, which is often money. In maintaining the balance there are two aspects. One is that we should have enough time for our spiritual practices. In general, we should spend four hours a day between chanting our sixteen rounds, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, singing the prayers and the different things that devotees do as part of their spiritual program in the temple which Srila Prabhupada said that we should do at home also, if we can’t go to the temple.

Then the other thing is that when we are engaged in our spiritual practices, our minds should not be going to our material endeavors. If when you are chanting, instead of trying to hear the holy name, you are thinking about the different ways that you could make more money or the different ways you could protect your money, that is a type of over-endeavoring. We should make our efforts, but not at the cost of our spiritual lives. As it is said,“What profit eth a man if he gained the whole world but loses his eternal soul?”

Host: Thank you. And we have a question from Priti Radhika dasi, please unmute yourself.

Devotee: Thank you. Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Maharaja, you said that even in the early stages of bhakti, happiness and relief from misery shows, so there are some devotees that are genetically prone—we are genetically prone to different diseases like diabetes or cancer or things like that. Similarly, depression also is genetically, somebody can be prone too. So, if somebody is a devotee, but is prone to depression and is seeking treatment for that, would it be all right to say that maybe they are lacking in sadhana? That’s why they are not jubilant or cannot fight those negative emotions? Would it be okay to think like that?

Giriraj Swami: To say to who? Do you mean to not actually say it?

Devotee: To a devotee or to judge a devotee, that maybe they are lacking something in their sadhana, that’s why they are not—the effects of the devotion are not showing.

Giriraj Swami: We should be compassionate, and if a devotee is suffering, we should think if we can do anything to help them. I think of a very nice statement by His Holiness Niranjana Swami, that if we see somebody in the material world engaged in sinful activities, instead of just judging the person or dismissing the person, we should think that person is bereft of the mercy of a Vaishnava. And we should think whether we can be that Vaishnava who can extend mercy to that person and change the course of that person’s life. I mean, as a rule, it’s not beneficial to think ill of devotees, I mean, sometimes we—so thinking of a devotee that oh, the devotee is depressed because the devotee’s not performing proper sadhana—well, that could be the case, but can you do something to help that devotee to strengthen his or her sadhana?

Devotee: It is a possibility that a devotee can be depressed, right? And they can be seeking treatment?

Giriraj Swami: Oh yes, we had one case in Bombay, in Juhu. A devotee became a paranoid schizophrenic, a really extreme case, she thought that people were trying to poison her so she wouldn’t eat prasāda, but she would rummage through the trash containers just to take the remnants that were there, she would do a lot of extreme things that I need not discuss in detail. Her father was actually quite a well-to-do person, he was a lawyer, he actually had been India’s ambassador to France. He came to Bombay to try to help his daughter, and he wanted to take her to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

We weren’t really sure what was right, so I asked Srila Prabhupada and I mentioned the devotee’s name, and he said, “Yes, I know her, she is a devotee,” and then I asked about the idea of her father taking her to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. Srila Prabhupada said that the mind is material, just like the rest of the body, and just as you can have a broken arm and it doesn’t affect your position as a devotee, you could have a broken mind and it won’t affect your position as a devotee. And just as a broken arm can be treated medically, a broken mind can also be treated medically. He approved of her going to the psychiatric hospital for treatment.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja.

Host: Maharaja, we have two more questions, can you take them?

Giriraj Swami: Well, either you or me.

Host: The first Ashish Prabhu and then after that Sumithira Vasu. Ashish Prabhu, please unmute yourself.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet, so good to see you. Maharaja, I have one question that I have always thought of asking you, and that is, I have read about all the difficulties you went through building the Bombay temple and your stay in India, so I wanted to ask you what kept you going? It was a foreign country, different language, different culture, all kinds of challenges, but what was the one thing that kept you going through all these challenges and you came out successful?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada, his mercy, and our feelings of gratitude to him and appreciation for him.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja.

Host: Sumithira Vasu please unmute yourself.

Devotee: Thank you Mataji. Hare Krishna Maharaja. Maharaja, I have a question, in several places in the Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā Prabhupada goes to several lengths to say a devotee will not pray for liberation, and earlier in the Bhāgavatam, I think it’s 1.2.6, he says that bhakti will be satisfying when it is unmotivated. So, if we desire liberation, isn’t that also a motivation?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: And Prabhupada glorifies [01:16:06 inaudible] in his Mukunda-mala storta where the central theme of the whole prayer is, he says it doesn’t matter whether I go to heaven or hell or liberation, birth after birth I just want to remember You. Which of these two paths do we take?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, I must have missed something because I didn’t see that there were two.

Devotee: Because here Kunti Maharani says, “Seeing You means we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.”

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, but it’s not that her goal is not to see repeated births and deaths, but it’s a by-product, liberation is a by-product of pure devotional service. That’s true, devotees don’t pray for liberation, Kunti is not praying for liberation. But it is a fact that by Krishna consciousness you are liberated, but that’s not the goal of becoming Krishna conscious, but it happens as a by-product. That’s one of those six characteristics of pure devotional service, mokṣa-laghutā-kṛt, that pure devotional service minimizes the value of liberation.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: We don’t have any more questions Maharaja. Once and again, thank you so much for your association, for your inspiration, for your wonderful service. Thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Pleasure. Well, if we are going to end, I suggest we should conclude with offering Vaishnava praṇāma.

Host: Yes!

Giriraj Swami:

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord, who are just like desire trees who can fulfil the desires of everyone and are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Host: Thank you, and please remember the next week our program resumes at four o’clock. We have a children’s and family program next week and with His Holiness Bhakti Sundar Goswami. This is going to be a program that is going to be led by children for children, so parents are also invited. Please join us at four o’clock next Sunday and please visit our website or information flyers in our Facebook page for all the programs that we have during the week. And once again Maharaja, we are never tired to thank you for everything you do and for all the inspiration that you bring to every one of us. It is really a very merciful Vaishnava.

We wake up chanting the holy name, and even at night after a very stressful day, we can still go chanting with the holy name, if we see Maharaja still chanting, still going, still inspiring. Thank you so much Maharaja, Hare Krishna. Thank you all, have a wonderful week, always remember Krishna, and never forget Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: That was very profound, always remember Krishna and never forget Krishna. Because it is said in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit, one should always remember Krishna and never forget Him. And all the positive injunctions and negative prohibitions in the scriptures are all servants of the one positive injunction to always remember Krishna and the one negative prohibition to never forget Krishna. Thank you for that profound blessing.

Host: All glories to your inspirational service, thank you.